On Oct. 1, 1949, Mao Zedong proclaimed the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) from the top of Beijing’s Tiananmen Gate. Now, as the PRC celebrates its 75th anniversary, we wanted to revisit its past—and Chinese leaders’ efforts to rewrite it. As former Guardian China correspondent Tania Branigan put it, the Chinese Communist Party “sees history not as a record, still less a debate, but a tool.”

From Beijing-Moscow relations to China’s “economic miracle,” the essays below examine the PRC’s transformation over the past 75 years—and the histories that the state has sought to obscure.—Chloe Hadavas

On Oct.........

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